Previews

Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution

Spiffy:

Not just a Japanese port; gameplay is a perfect fit for Wii; nice graphics.

Iffy:

Hardcore fighting gamers will still resent the simplified fighting engine.

Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto has absolutely dominated the anime world on both sides of the Pacific, so it should come as no surprise that multiple videogames based on the franchise have appeared on practically every console. What is surprising is that the Wii has been left out of the party thus far, despite the fact that the Japanese-exclusive Naruto Shippuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX has been out since February in Japan. Fortunately for the Naruto faithful, D3 is on the case, and Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution is on its way. By the end of this month, North American gamers will finally have a chance to play as their favorite ninja on the only console that features a nunchuk controller.

Naruto fans who also gamed on Nintendo's previous hardware are probably already familiar with the Clash of Ninja series. Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Clash of Ninja 2 both dropped on U.S. audiences in 2006, bringing simple, intuitive, cel-shaded combat to the masses. And despite a redesigned control system for the motion-sensitive Wii controllers, Clash of Ninja Revolution is a very faithful North American-exclusive follow-up that promises to retain the look and feel of the GameCube titles while beefing up practically every aspect of them with additional content and play modes.

The game modes are a blend of updated versions of modes seen previously and completely new modes unique to Revolution. There is, of course, a story mode, which runs from the Chunin Exams story arc through the Search for Tsunade story. Time Trial and Survival modes both return for Naruto's Wii debut, as does Arcade mode, which has been enhanced with a two-player mode, pitting a team of two players against a rival team. You can also set up a four-fighter free-for-all and brutal three-on-one squashes. The modes are rounded out with a couple of slight but fun nods to the Wii's unique controllers, including a series of gesture-based mini-games and a light gun throwing-star shooter.

The real star, though, is the four-player multiplayer. Fast, chaotic and fluid, it really drives home how much better-looking Revolution is than either of the previous GameCube Clash of Ninja titles. And because the control schemes are so simplified and casual gamer-friendly, Revolution could make a fun four-person party game for players who have had their fill of smooth moves and rabbids.

Speaking of control schemes, Clash of Ninja fans will be happy to hear that the game supports GameCube controllers for that old-school feel (if that word can accurately be applied to a game that's not even two years old). It also supports the Classic controller and sideways Wii remote play, but if you want to experience Revolution the way it was meant to be played, you need to use the Wii remote and nunchuk.